John Bowring
Sir John Bowring, KCB (17 October 1792 - 23 November 1872) was an English writer, political economist, world traveller, writer, literary translator, and hymnist. Life Overview Bowring was born at Exeter. His talent for acquiring languages enabled him at last to say that he knew 200, and could speak 100. He was appointed editor of the Westminster Review in 1824; travelled in various countries with the view of reporting on their commercial position; was an M.P. 1835-37 and 1841-49, and held various appointments in China. His chief literary work was the translation of the folk-songs of most European nations, and he also wrote original poems and hymns, and works on political and economic subjects. B. was knighted in 1854. He was the literary executor of Jeremy Bentham.John William Cousin, "Bowring, John," A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature, 1910, 44. Web, Dec. 15, 2017. Youth and education Bowring was born at Exeter, of an old Puritan family. In early life he came under the influence of Jeremy Bentham. He did not, however, share his master's contempt for belles-lettres, but was a diligent student of literature and foreign languages, especially those of eastern Europe. As a linguist he ranked with Mezzofanti and von Gabelentz among the greatest of the world.Britannica, 349. At one time or another he became more or less familiar with French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Russian, Serbian, Polish, Bohemian, Arabic, and Chinese.Alfred Henry Miles, Critical and Biographical Essay: Sir John Bowring (1792–1872), Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century (edited by Miles), London: Routledge / New York: Dutton, 1907. Bartleby.com, Web, Nov. 19, 2017. Career In 1824 he began to contribute to the newly founded Westminster Review, of which he was appointed editor in 1825. By his contributions to the Review he obtained considerable reputation as political economist and parliamentary reformer. He advocated in its pages the cause of free trade long before it was popularized by Richard Cobden and John Bright. He pleaded earnestly in behalf of parliamentary reform, Catholic emancipation and popular education. In 1829 he was in Denmark, preparing for the publication of a collection of Scandinavian poetry. Bowring, who had been the trusted friend of Bentham during his life, was appointed his literary executor, and was charged with the task of preparing a collected edition of his works. This appeared in 11 volumes in 1843. Bowring had entered parliament in 1835 as member for Kilmarnock; and in the following year he was appointed head of a government commission to be sent to France to inquire into the actual state of commerce between the two countries. He was engaged in similar investigations in Switzerland, Italy, Syria and some of the German states. The results of these missions appeared in a series of reports laid before the House of Commons. After a retirement of 4 years he sat in parliament from 1841 till 1849 as member for Bolton. During this busy period he found leisure for literature, and published in 1843 a translation of the Manuscript of the Queen's Court, a collection of old Bohemian lyrics, &c. In 1849 he was appointed British consul at Canton, and superintendent of trade in China, a post which he held for 4 years. After his return he distinguished himself as an advocate of the decimal system, and published a work entitled The Decimal System in Numbers, Coins and Accounts (1854). The introduction of the florin as a preparatory step was chiefly due to his efforts. He was sent in 1854 to Hong Kong as governor, invested with the supreme military and naval power. It was during his governorship that a dispute broke out with the Chinese; and the irritation caused by his “spirited” or high-handed policy led to the second war with China. In 1855 he visited Siam, and negotiated with the king a treaty of commerce. After the usual 5 years of service he retired and received a pension. His last employment by the English government was as a commissioner to Italy in 1861, to report on British commercial relations with the new kingdom. Bowring subsequently accepted the appointment of minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary from the Hawaiian government to the courts of Europe, and in this capacity negotiated treaties with Belgium, Holland, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Bowring was a man of broad and open mind. He had a firm grip for fundamental principles, a clear eye for the intricacies of conflicting evidence, and a sound judgment for estimating subtle issues. His religious belief was an intelligent faith based upon reason and inquiry, of which the sonnet “Confidence” may be taken as a proof. He died at Claremont, near Exeter, on the 23rd of November 1872. Writing Translations The first-fruits of his study of foreign literature appeared in Specimens of the Russian Poets (1821 – 1823). These were speedily followed by Batavian Anthology (1824), Ancient Poetry and Romances of Spain (1824), Specimens of the Polish Poets, and Servian Popular Poetry, both in 1827. In addition to the works already named he published — Poetry of the Magyars (1830); Cheskian Anthology (1832); The Kingdom and People of Siam (1857); a translation of Peter Schlemihl (1824); translations from the Hungarian poet, Alexander Petöfi (1866); and various pamphlets. Hymns In addition to these works, which are mainly translations, Sir John Bowring wrote original verse. This was published interspersed with a few translations, in (1) Matins and Vespers with Hymns and Occasional Devotional Pieces, London, 1823; 2nd edition, enlarged, 1824; 3rd edition, again enlarged, 1841; and the 4th, still further enlarged, in 1851. (2) Hymns: As a sequel to the Matins, 1825. In addition he contributed to a few Unitarian hymnals, especially that of the Rev. J.R. Beard of Manchester, 1837. In that collection many of the hymns added to the 1841 edition of Matins were first published. A selection from these, together with a biographical sketch, was published by Lady Bowring in 1873, as a Memorial Volume of Sacred Poetry. This work contains hymns from the Matins and Vespers, together with others from periodicals, and from his manuscripts.John Bowring, Dictionary of Hymnology, 1907. Hymnary, Web, Mar. 10, 2017. Of his hymns a very large percentage have come into common use. A few have been adopted by almost all denominations, as, "God is love, His mercy brightens;" "How sweetly flow'd the gospel sound;" "In the Cross of Christ I glory;" "Watchman, tell us of the night;"; and others, but the greater portion are confined to the Unitarian collections of Great Britain and America, of which denomination he was a member. Recognition In 1828 he visited Holland, where the university of Groningen conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws. He was knighted in 1854. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, and received the decorations of several foreign orders of knighthood. Bowring's Recollections were edited by his 2nd son, Lewin Bowring (died 1910). in 1877. Publications Poetry *''Matins and Vespers with Hymns and Occasional Devotional Pieces'', London: G. & W.B. Whittaker / Rowland Hunter, 1823 **2nd edition, enlarged, London, G.B. Whittaker, 1824; Boston: Hilliard, Gray, Little, & Wilkins, 1827 **3rd edition, again enlarged, London: J. Green, 1841; Boston: Ticknor, 1844 **4th edition, further enlarged, Lonon: Whitfield 1851; Boston: Ticknor, Reed, & Fields, 1857; London: P. Green, 1895. *''Hymns''. London: R. Hunter / C. Cox, 1825. *''A Memorial Volume of Sacred Poetry ... to which is prefixed, a memoir of the author, by Lady Bowring''. London: Longmans, Green, Reader, & Dyer, 1873. Non-fiction *''Sketch of the Language and Literature of Holland: Being a sequal to his Batavian anthology''. Leeuwarden, Netherlands: Suringar, 1829. *''Speech of Dr. Bowring, M.P : on the Factories Regulation Act''. London: Mirror of Parliament, 1836. *''Report on the Prussian Commercial Union''. London: W. Clowes, for H.M.S.O., 1840. *''Syria: The speech of Dr. Bowring, M.P., Monday, September 20, 1841''. 1841. *''The Speech of Dr. Bowring, M.P. on the Distress at Bolton''. London: T.C. Hansard, 1842. *''The Decimal System in Numbers, Coins, and Accounts: Especially with reference to the decimalisation of the currency and accountancy of the United Kingdom''. London: N. Cooke, 1854. *''The Kingdom and People of Siam''. London: Parker, 1857; Cambridge, UK, & New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Translated *''Specimens of the Russian Poets''. London: R. Hunter / A. Constable, Edinburgh, 1821; Boston: Cummings & Hilliard, 1822. *''Batavian Anthology; or, Specimens of the Dutch poets''. London: Taylor & Hessey, 1824; Groningen, Netherlands: Van Boekeren, 1825. *''Ancient Poetry and Romances of Spain''. London: Taylor & Hennessey, 1824. *''Specimens of the Polish Poets''. London: Baldwin, Cradock, & Joy, 1827. *''Servian Popular Poetry''. London: Baldwin, Cradock, & Joy, 1827. *''Poetry of the Magyars''. London: Heward, 1830; Toronto: Hungarian Historical Studies, 1996. *''Cheskian Anthology: Being a history of the poetical literature of Bohemia with translated specimens''. London: R. Hunter, 1832. *Adelbert von Chamisso, Peter Schlemihl. London : G. and W.B. Whittaker, 1824. *Sándor Petőfi, Translations from Alexander Petöfi, the Magyar Poet. London, Trübner, 1866. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:John Bowring, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Mar. 10, 2017. See also *List of English-language hymnists References * . Wikisource, Web, Mar. 10, 2017. Notes External links ;Poems *Bowring in A Victorian Anthology, 1837-1895: "From the Recesses," "What of the Night?" *John Bowring at Hymnary (96 hymns) *Sir John Bowring at Poetry Nook (148 poems) *John Bowring at PoemHunter (285 poems) ;Prose * ;Books * ;About *Bowring, John in the ''Dictionary of National Biography' * Original article is at Bowring, Sir John Category:1792 births Category:1872 deaths Category:Bowring family Category:British economists Category:English magazine editors Category:English Unitarians Category:Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Category:Fellows of the Royal Society Category:Governors of Hong Kong Category:Hungarian–English translators Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Category:People from Exeter Category:Philhellenes Category:Translators from Czech Category:Translators to English Category:UK MPs 1835–37 Category:UK MPs 1841–47 Category:UK MPs 1847–52 Category:English male writers Category:Christian hymnwriters Category:English hymnwriters Category:Hymnists Category:English translators